Sponsored police station boards draw flak, to be removed soon

Local station officers are putting up such boards, despite a standing order from the Chennai police Commissionerate, asking them not to do so and advising the station to use the reserve fund of Rs 10,000 available in the station for such use. 

“It is visually awkward and definitely not projecting the right kind of image of the Chennai police,” a senior police officer said. Senior police officers said that the decision to have the sponsor’s name on the board is taken by the station head. “The boards are installed only once the stations start functioning. Sometimes it is done by Tamil Nadu Police Housing Corporation if the building is handed over to the city police. The regular maintenance is carried out by the police station administrators who are supposed to use the reserve fund available at their disposal. But certain station officers bring in some sponsors to set up such boards, with lights inside.  But the standing instruction is not to use the sponsor’s name on the board,” a senior police officer told DT Next when contacted. 

But not many station heads seem to be going ahead with instructions from the top brass. For example, the name board of the Marina Police station, painted on the wall of the premises, has the name of the sponsor/advertiser in big letters just below the name of the station.  

In the case of Semmencherry police station located on the Sholinganallur junction, the name of the sponsor/advertiser is on the side of the board.  “We will ask stations which have sponsored name boards to remove the names of advertisers immediately,” assured an officer from the police administrative wing.